Bhubaneswar: The 11th edition of Odisha Manaska monthly circle organized by All Things Odisha witnessed a lively discussion on monsoon, its beauty, bounties and curses in shaping Odisha’s identity. The monthly discussion forum highlighted various aspects of monsoon- from its romanticization to its role in forming the socio-economic and cultural backbone of Indian societies mostly of Odisha.
Around 20 people from various walks of life shared their thoughts, ideas, insights and their lived experiences to contribute to the collective wisdom. The theme of the session was Monsoon Melody: Kebe Khusi Kebe Tragedy (How the Monsoon has shaped Odisha’s identity?).
A good monsoon sustains agriculture and agriculture is the lifeline of Odisha’s socio-economic identity. A bad monsoon also affects agriculture which leads to drought and famine. A great monsoon also brings flood. The Na’anka famine in Odisha is an example of a bad monsoon. The monsoons also bring cyclones that have been impacting the state. While Odia people fight with these monsoon-related catastrophes, the resilience they show was praised in the session.
The session was conducted by Sandip Bal, Sonali Priyadarsini, while it was attended by eminent food researcher Ritu Pattnaik, writer and heritage expert Anil Dhir, Pranay Manjari, Director of Safe Odisha For Her, and many others. Participants also suggested that Odisha should stress on monsoon tourism as the state has huge potential.
Attending the session, TISS Mumbai student Kshitish Panda hailed the discussion and the forum for bringing varied discussions around Odisha and Odia identity as he got nuanced perspectives around Monsoon and its melody and mayhem.